Twitter’s Reaction to Against Me! Frontman Tom Gabel Coming Out as Transgender Has Been Surprisingly Heartwarming

So yes, by now you have probably heard (through an expertly deployed series of leaks and teasers and whatever, which maybe feels a little bit gross) that this Friday’s new issue of Rolling Stone contains a seven-page article in which Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel comes out as transgender, announcing that he plans to live the rest of his life as a woman named Laura Jane Gabel.

I was speaking to a friend about this last night when the news first broke, and we agreed, only half-jokingly, that the internet just isn’t ready for this sort of thing. But while, sure, there’s no shortage of people being assholes in the comments over at Punk News (it’s like the Brooklyn Vegan comments, only without the self-awareness/performance art feel), the reaction has actually been extremely positive, at least on Twitter. Check out the @ mentions for TommyGabel right now—they’re streaming in pretty fucking quickly, of course, and it’s just good vibe after good vibe. Well done, humans.